"That's the number one part of DJing, know your records," says Zernell, the Chicago born, now LA-based DJ and head of the music label, Grimy!. Zernell, along with fellow house DJs Theo Parrish and Marcellus Pittman, were spinning records at Amoeba Hollywood for our weekly DJ series, ROTATIONS, in celebration of the Crate Diggers Record Fair. Parrish and Pittman, both Detroit based, are also heads of their own labels, Sound Signature and Unirhythm, respectively. Before their sets the three DJs went record shopping and we got a chance to hear what they had to say about their killer picks.

Mark Ronson is a DJ and producer whose work nods to classic soul and funk style sounds. Born in London but educated in New York City, Ronson began his career by DJing high profile gigs like Sean "P. Diddy" Combs' 29th birthday party. In 2003, he found success in the UK with the release of his debut album, Here Comes the Fuzz, which features guest appearances from the likes of Anthony Hamilton, Nikka Costa, Rivers Cuomo, Jack White,Mos Def, and Sean Paul. In 2007, he released a collection of cover songs called Version, which was followed by 2010's Record Collection.

In 2015, Ronson released Uptown Special. He dedicated the album to Amy Winehouse, whose Back to Black he had produced and for which he had received the 2008 Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical. Uptown Special features "Uptown Funk," a collaboration with Bruno Mars which marked Ronson's first entry into Billboard's Hot 100. Interestingly, the album features lyrics written by Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Michael Chabon.

Fightin' Words is a long delayed release from East Coast rapper Diabolic which has been in the works for four years. Originally intended to come out on Viper Records, the album instead got released via the recently founded WarHorse Records. Mic collaborators include such hard hitters as Vinnie Paz, Apathy, and R.A. the Rugged Man, while production is handled in most part by DJ Premier.

Gang Starr "Just To Get A Rep" from the album Step Into The Arena (1991)

"Mad brothers know his name" are just a few of the well known (and oft quoted or sampled) Gang Starrlyrics rapped by the late great emcee of the legendary hip-hop duo GURU (Gifts Unlimited Rhymes Universal) over DJ Premier's killer track on "Just To Get A Rep." The song was released in February 1991 by Chrysalis/EMI as the lead single (with "Who's Gonna Take The Weight" on the filp side of the 12" single) from the duo's hip-hop classic full-lengthStep In The Arenathat was released a few weeks earlier. Like that album the single "Just To Get A Rep" remains a hip-hop classic. And now 23 full years later it is even clearer what an important role this particular song plays in its part of hip-hop's legacy, with each phrase and rhyme from the song known by heart by every true hip-hop fan and DJs/producers who like to take snippets of it and throw it in the mix. See full song lyrics listed below along with the videos for the other Step In The Arena album tracks as the mellow, chilled out "Lovesick" whose numerous samples include Digital Underground's best known song "The Humpty Dance," the heavily politicized "Who's Gonna Take The Weight?" (my personal fave album track with "Check The Technique" in close second), and the title track itself from the album Step In The Arena that while it was technically the group's second album it was their main introduction to most hip-hop audiences at the time.